Photos: Ukraine celebrates National Flag Day

What the report says

Ukrainians marked National Flag Day on Sunday with ceremonies across the country, including in Kyiv and Lviv, as the nation continued to live through its war with Russia. According to Al Jazeera’s gallery report, participants raised the blue-and-yellow flag, held a minute of silence for people killed in the war, and sang the national anthem. Patriotic and folk music was also performed by a military orchestra.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in events in the capital and spoke to military personnel. Al Jazeera reported that he described the flag as a symbol of what is most valuable to soldiers defending the country. Other officials and public figures shown in the images included Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi and Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also appeared at a ceremony in Kyiv.

The holiday was established on August 23, 2004, the day before Ukraine’s Independence Day. Al Jazeera noted that the flag’s blue and yellow colors are commonly understood to represent wheat fields under open skies, and that the design was restored after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The observance highlighted how national symbols continue to play a role in wartime public life and in expressions of unity and patriotism.